Beloved comic bookstore owner Geoffrey Patterson, whose sense of justice fueled his lifetime passion for super heroes and occasional bouts of crime fighting, died on Sunday. He was 72.

The founder of Geoffrey’s Comic Shop in Gardena died of liver failure at UCLA Medical Center, the family confirmed Monday. Patterson is survived by his wife and four children.

Patterson was well-known for his eccentric love of super heroes. His home in Torrance is decorated inside and out with super-hero statues, wooden cutouts and other comic book memorabilia. The home would get hundreds of visitors on Halloween, when Patterson would hand out comic books with candy and let people check out his superhero-themed graveyard.

Patterson even invented his own green-caped villain, “Captain Greedy,” who made regular appearances at Geoffrey’s and co-hosted a comic book talk show on a local public access TV channel. Captain Greedy was also the star of a comic book series that Patterson penned himself.

“He was an exceptionally unique character,” said Eddie Deangelini, 45, who used to hang out at Geoffrey’s as a kid in the 1980s and now works at the store. “He liked to catch people off guard. He made people uncomfortable, but not in a bad way. He showed people how not to take things too seriously all the time.”

Patterson’s love of comics started back in the 1940s and 1950s, when he would recycle bottles to earn enough money to go see Saturday morning cartoons at the local cinema.

After playing basketball at North High and graduating from Cal State Long Beach, Patterson went on to work with juvenile offenders as a probation officer.

After 20 years of mentoring troubled kids with the help of basketball and comic books, Patterson saw a copy of one of his favorite comics for sale in a mail-order magazine. In a bout of nostalgia that would lead to the opening of Geoffrey’s in the late 1970s, Patterson ordered an early copy of the Blackhawk comic, his all-time favorite series.

“I paid $100 for that 10-cent comic. It was well worth it. It reminded me of those early days when my Mom and Pop were alive, I had all my teeth and heroism was so much simpler,” Patterson wrote in a 1995 column for the Daily Breeze.

The Blackhawks were an international team of World War II-era fighter pilots that fought against tyrannical dictators in foreign lands. Geoffrey Patterson Jr. believes the Blackhawk stories planted a seed in his father’s head.

“These comic books showed adventures of people that tried to do the right thing and stand up for people that couldn’t stand up for themselves,” Patterson Jr. said. “My dad through his whole life had a strong sense of justice and stood up for the little guy.”

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Patterson Jr. said there have been numerous occasions when his father chased down thieves that had tried to steal women’s handbags — once while on a date with his future wife, another time when he was dressed in his Captain Greedy costume.

Jeff Bergdahl, Patterson’s ex-brother-in-law who has worked at Geoffrey’s Comics since it opened in the late 1970s, also remembered Patterson’s super-hero tendencies.

One time, Bergdahl recalled, a man grabbed a stack of comic books off a table outside the shop and started running down the street. Patterson jumped into his Bat Van (which was painted black with a Batman insignia emblazoned on the hood and a Batman statue on the roof) with Bergdahl riding shotgun.

“He just peeled rubber to catch up with the guy,” said Bergdahl, 53. “The guy knew what was up because he turned around and saw the Bat Van coming for him.”

Patterson pulled up alongside the thief and jumped from the van as it was still moving, Bergdahl said, tackling the would-be thief and tussling with him on somebody’s front lawn as neighbors looked on. The man got away, but Patterson got his comics back.

Patterson also was a man who didn’t tolerate racism, Bergdahl said, recalling a time when a co-worker made a racist comment about black people while watching television at the shop and Patterson yelled at him, calling him an “idiot” who was “talking horse (manure).”

Patterson also was a hero to aspiring comic book writers who worked at his store. Mike Wellman, who worked at Geoffrey’s from 1997 to 2004 and co-hosted the Comic Book Geeks public access cable show, said Patterson helped him make the jump from selling comics to writing his own, which he does today, in addition to co-managing the Comic Bug shop in Manhattan Beach.

“It’s not the most rational thing to do to make comics,” said Wellman, 40. “He was always encouraging me to go after my dreams.”

Geoffrey’s employee Deangelini said his former boss had a gruff exterior and didn’t have much patience for people he thought lacked intelligence. When Deangelini started writing his own comic strip a few years ago, he said his boss wasn’t afraid to speak his mind.

“Geoffrey always gave constructive, supportive criticism,” he said. “But he did it in a loving way, because he actually wanted you to succeed.”